WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden is set to travel to India on Thursday for the Group of 20 (G20) summit in New Delhi. He plans to address China’s “coercive and unsustainable lending” practices and propose strengthening multilateral development banks. Chinese leader Xi Jinping will not attend the summit. President Biden’s trip was briefly in question after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19, but he will still attend as he tested negative and has no symptoms. The G20 was formed in 1999 to address global financial issues, and this will be India’s first time hosting the summit. President Biden aims to propose alternatives to China’s lending program, which has been criticized for lack of transparency. The United States is championing the reform and scaling up of development banks. The G20 brings together the world’s major economies, and its members account for a large portion of global GDP, trade, and population. Efforts to reform development banks are not about China, according to the White House, but are an affirmative agenda for the international community. President Biden asked Congress to provide an additional $3.3 billion for the World Bank, expecting it to leverage over $27 billion in U.S.-backed financing and grants for developing nations. The United States aims to highlight development banks as an alternative to China’s financing. Last year, the G-7 proposed the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) to compete with China’s BRI. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will not attend the summit, and Premier Li Qiang will represent China. President Biden plans to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and after the summit, he will travel to Vietnam to meet with Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The United States and Vietnam will work together on various challenges, including those related to the South China Sea and emerging technologies.
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